For Your Safety
One of the most common justifications for any and most political policies today is that such implementation is to ensure ‘safety’. This seems to be the method by which all politicians have figured out is a means of passing laws which would otherwise be unpalatable.
The most famous justification came in the aftermath of the attacks on New York in 2001. Following the discovery of a would be terrorist who apparently had hidden a bomb in his shoe, the entire planet started a protocol of airport security screening which exists to this day. Thus began a couple of decades of shoe removal, x-ray scanning and pat downs at airport terminals. Though there has been no record of any further terrorist efforts thwarted by such security, millions of nail clippers and water bottles have been confiscated. But the procedure has taken a life of its own as everyone routinely accepts the procedure because it’s for their safety. Thus, a muti-billion dollar bureaucracy is now an essential part of daily life. Only now, it’s become worse, because now, electronic iris scans are virtually mandatory…for your safety.
As recently as only a few years ago, the world was paralyzed by an apparently dangerous virus which necessitated draconian measures of isolation and protection for…your safety. Regardless of how non-sensical or invasive the protocols were, people were obliged to follow the new safety rules to be able to move about in society. As the ensuing years have passed, it’s become evident just how preposterous those edicts were. Recall standing six feet apart at the airline counter, but then only to sit elbow to armpit next to someone on the plane for 5 hours. Or to mask up upon entering a restaurant, but then able to de-mask once seated.
Related to this was the over the top response to peaceful protesters in Ottawa who didn’t happen to agree with the government’s draconian edicts. Police were sent out to trample protestors…for their safety.
When politicians run for office, they are often known to invoke the ‘for your safety’ card in proposing new rules just to live in society, as if they were protecting people from some cataclysmic danger. We will soon see the push for central bank digital currencies…to protect the public of course. We now have cars that monitor your driving habits…again for public safety.
How did civilization survive through the eons without pearl clutchers restraining us at every opportunity? I can make the argument that this is a phenomenon related to females and female leaders. The very idea of safety resonates more with the female populace than it does for males. It is not in the nature of most men to do things based on the safety of a particular action. I will wager that everything from seatbelts to helmets and airbags have at their roots an appeal to women’s notions of safety. If you’ve ever shopped for any baby product, safety is the number one selling feature above all.
Men don’t generally worry about safety as it relates to ascending or descending a mountain. Safety doesn’t hold them back from exploring new lands or to go up in a rocket to other planets. Safety doesn’t hold them back from spending vast sums on capital projects and risky ventures. In the grand scheme of things, all great things have been accomplished by doing things outside of the confines of safety. Civilization is not about safety.
But somehow over the years, the overriding aspect of ‘safety’ is baked into so much of our everyday lives that innovation and freedom are stifled, leading to a flaccid and fearful society. Where? Well Canada is a prime example of a smothering nanny culture. The present environment of creeping big government has been increasingly responsible for the dearth of innovation and ambition. Young, ambitious people are leaving to more hospitable nations. According to Statistics Canada, record numbers of people are leaving Canada within 2 years of arriving. Of course there are other issues as well such as high housing costs, but much of that could be mitigated by policies aimed at growth instead of protectionism and alarmism. Protecting everything under the guise of safety leads to a stagnant nation which will not grow and will in fact shrink.
Masculine sensibilities must return. There has to be a preference for growth and risk taking in order for any civilization to progress. Looking backwards and being fearful of every path taken will lead to insular and stagnant societies. We don’t need to be protected at every step in our lives. We have become prisoners of the safety lie.
Maybe the pundits were right. Maybe the guardrails should be taken off to cull the herd of the terminally inept.
Addendum. Just a day after this was published, Senator Tammi Duckworth urges re-instatement of shoes off policy at airport security points. They are caricatures of themselves.